Adventures in Humaning – Episode 11: The Weeds.

Adventures in Humaning - Episode 11: The Weeds | Frank Hults of Frankly Well, and Meredith Rhodes of Forward Health CoachClick here to go right to the show.

Well Hello! We’ve missed you…

Frank and I are back after a bit of a hiatus wherein we chose… to live our lives 😉 We’ve both moved into new homes and we’re both facing serious change.

Some would say, Adventure. That’s how I’m approaching life anyway.

Speaking of change – it’s Springtime. Things are most definitely changing outside. Trees have leaves, lawns everywhere are facing mowers, and farmer’s markets are in full force in my neck of the woods.

In this episode, we begin our journey into the relatively unknown by starting with what we do know, in this case, about veggies. I’d wager that most everyone can identify lettuce, broccoli, carrots, and potatoes. Why is that? Well, these are foods that our parents and teachers ate, foods that we can buy in the grocery store and at the farmer’s market. They are commonly cultivated in large quantities in a field, or even in small quantities in a backyard.

But why is it that when we look outside, all we can identify is grass vs. weeds? OK, maybe we have a few things down, like dandelions and pine trees and daisies… but, the rest of ‘nature’ is full of weeds?

Answer: We weren’t born into a society that uses them as food anymore. We are absolutely unfamiliar with the edible ‘weeds’ around us.

Frank and I chat a lot about this in this show. We’re both fledgling foragers – beginning to actually incorporate wild foods into our lives.

And there are sooo many reasons why.

This show is probably a Part 1 show – where we do a little compare and contrast between veggies in the store, and wild foods from nature (nutritionally, economically, ecosystem-ally). We hope to create awareness about the treasure-trove of free, nutrient dense foods that are probably in your yard (that you might be trying to get rid of). This show is begging for a Part 2 where we talk about where to start your foraging adventure.

I give a shout out to a show that I did with Sam Thayer on The Roots of Health. And I even butcher the titles of his books, Nature’s Garden and Forager’s Harvest (you can visit his store right here).

Have a listen – send us some feedback or tell us about your favorite wild food. We’d love to try it!

Cheers!
Meredith & Frank

Adventures In Humaning – Episode 9: Minimalism.

Episode 9 of Adventures In Humaning : Minimalism | Frank Hults of Frankly Well & Meredith Rhodes of Forward HealthMinimalism.

Does that word sound stark, terrible, emotionless, and sad?

I used to, to me (Me = Meredith in this case).

But today – I see crazy opportunity, and even health associated with that word.

Today’s show marks a starting point for me. Frank and I discuss our recent run-in with the concept / approach of minimalism. To us, minimalism is very ancestral. It’s about re-prioritizing relationships and experiences over ‘stuff’. It’s about recognizing consumerism and waste, and actively opting out. It’s also about discovering (we hope!) the personal health gains, more time, more sleep, less worry, easier health.

In this show, you’ll find out…

  • We kind of think we’ve been minimalists living amongst our stuff for a long time.
  • Minimalism invokes less – but maybe it’s really maximizing life. It’s a word of abundance.
  • From an ancestral perspective, minimalism feels right. The two approaches are really very congruent. Traditional ways were minimalist by nature.
  • We talk about consumerism… about that shirt or hat that you buy because it’s such a great deal. The one that isn’t made to last, has a huge carbon footprint, and you really don’t like anyway.
  • The cost of a thing vs. the value of a handmade craft.
  • I set the stage for my awareness of minimalism. Through divorce and christmas ornaments… and my want for a tiny house.
  • Recognizing that minimalism is a thing – a movement that you can join.
  • It’s a way toward freedom, control, toward declutter, toward creating time and space, saving money, toward elevating relationships and experiences in your life.
  • There is no object that should be more important than a relationship.
  • What to do with all of the old ‘sentimental’ stuff.
  • The idea to multipurpose things. I have an idea for a table/desk/bed thing.
  • Frank challenged to not research on google. PLEASE SEND IDEAS!
  • What minimalism means to me – clothes, thrift, outlets.
  • We chat about zero waste home.
  • Vitamin awareness (thanks to Katy Bowman for this phrase).
  • How much energy can you take on yourself instead of outsourcing?

Resources:

Adventures In Humaning – Episode 8: Healthy Skepticism.

Adventures In Humaning Episode 008: Healthy Skepticism | Frank Hults of Frankly Well & Meredith Rhodes of Forward HealthThis show explores what it means to be a healthy skeptic. Frank and I argue this means using your critical thinking skills to question your relationship with… well, all things that you interact with on a daily basis.

‘Healthy’, in this case, means ‘informed’. Methinks.

How can this approach to your environment influence your health directly?

We talk about fat, dairy, wild foods, GMO’s, antibiotics…

And if you hang on ’til the end – Frank develops a pretty awesome analogy that can help you to identify some bias in your life.

Here’s a link to Big Fat Surprise by Nina Teicholz.

“Be a healthy skeptic, but be skeptical about your skepticism” ~Frank said that.

You can avoid this ‘calf path’ lifeway if you question this ‘calf path’ lifeway.

 

Adventures In Humaning – Episode 7: The Dangers of Critical Thinking.

Adventures In Humaning Episode 7: The Dangers of Critical Thinking | Frank Hults & Meredith RhodesAre critical thinking skills becoming a lost art? Are we outsourcing our thinking? How do we teach the next generation to think for themselves?

Is it too dangerous to be a critical thinker?

Can we have a society of critical thinkers?

Critical thinking means being responsive to information, not just accepting it. It doesn’t mean you can’t have an opinion, or agree with someone else’s opinion, it means that you can, in your own words, describe your own ‘why’.

How do you cultivate these skills? Well, if your child asks you, ‘Why?’ you might ask them ‘Why do you think?’. By comparing and contrasting ideas. By challenging your beliefs. By understanding that there are more than 2 options, and not falling for a false dichotomy.

Unlock your own intellectual independence. If you haven’t heard the Calf Path show – give it a listen. Forge your own path.

Also – I’m in love with Word Porn. I love this one:

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Adventures In Humaning – Extreme Indoor Environment Series: Part 3 – Movement


Adventures In Humaning | Frank Hults & Meredith Rhodes | Extreme Indoor Environment Series - Part 3: MovementWelcome back! Your adventure continues. This week we delve back into the concept of the extreme (indoor) environment. While it can be difficult to conceptualize your microbiome like we talked about in the first part, and it takes a bit more cognitive energy to grasp your relationship with your circadian rhythm like we chatted about in the second part, in this episode we touch on the classical, physical, tangible environment. We meander about what our physical environment does to us, how it shapes and informs us. We explore some of the mismatch that may be prevalent in this modern day extreme environments.

Ready to get lost with us?

Stop by and join the conversation on Twitter on Facebook (Frank is still waiting for a carrier pigeon).

Relevant information and links:

“We adapt to our environment.  We can’t even help it.  We are going to adapt our environment matter what.”

“You can’t decide not to.”

“Right, you can’t opt out of it”

~ Frank & Meredith

 

“There’s lots of different ways that our homes, or offices or any other indoor environment can shape us physically, and one of them that may not be super intuitive to people is our eyesight.”

~ Meredith

 

  • How far can you see?  Is it possible you can’t see far because you don’t look far? For a magnificent explanation and break down on myopia check out Jake Stiener, End Myopia
  • Perhaps the reason many people can not get out of a squat is largely because we don’t squat.
  • We are literally reshaping our bodies
  • Humans like most biology need the input and the catalyst of information to build the system.

“A human can do a pull-up.  They are perfectly capable of doing a pull-up, but not all humans can do a pull-up.  Because not all humans do pull-ups.”  ~Frank

“There are ways to correct your vision naturally using your power of adaptation. Spending more time outside is part of that equation” ~Meredith

 

  • Real life anecdotal testimonial of eyesight strengthening… And the much rarer and impressive account of a teenage boy actually listening to his dad.
  • The indoor environment is a cast for your eyeballs.
  • We are stuck in a standardized measured exacting environment. Not much, if anything, in our modern architecture gives us the stimulation and input as the fractal nature of nature.

“We are going from our box of a house, to our box of a car,  to our box of a gym… and we’re doing all sorts of things like box jumps.  Our human life is a life full of boxes, we think in a box, we live in a box.” ~Frank

“I leap about in the forest, It’s what I do… I would take video but I’m busy leaping about in the forest” ~Frank

  • Be careful with your transition from modern human to full on minimalist loin cloth wearing vine swinging log leaping human.  Transition slowly.
  • Comfort toilet.  Toilets are a piece of furniture.  Modern western toilets are not designed with human biology or biomechanics in mind.  Your toilet is probably constipating you. The answer? Properly aligned illumination position… The Squat!   Squatty Potty
  • As promised This is the hilariously uncomfortable video mentioned.
  • This is the not so funny video purely instructional video.
  • Other than eyeballs and pooping,  Furniture is another way that your indoor environment casts your body.  Ask yourself how often do you sit on the floor or the ground? The lack of simply getting up off the floor on a daily basis is having a negative impact on the vast majority of western culture.  Our human muscularity, tendons and bone structure and strength are suffering from the lack of this primal input.
  • One of the most horrible things that can happen to an elderly individual is falling and breaking something. Studies clearly correlate a connection between the ability to get oneself up and off the ground and all cause mortality for seniors.
  • Modern conveniences mainly marketed for the elderly that outsource movement thereby robbing said individual of essential muscle building bone strengthening natural movement
  • #Humaning tips to slowly transition
  • You do not have to use the furniture in your house simply because it’s there.  If you do use it perhaps you can try something a little bit different, and use it to increase movement and maybe have a little fun in the meantime #NotARule
  • Countertops and the like may be robbing you of some natural movement opportunities. If you did not have these opportunities you would be forced to prep your food in a squat.  How much work are other people doing for your meal?  Consider for a moment, how much of your meal is outsourced to other human beings or machines. How much movement are you missing because of these modern conveniences?
  • A neat stacking opportunity via the Nutritions Movement circles is to  rearrange your cabinets so that your plates and most used items on the bottom shelves and bottom cabinets that what you’re encouraged to squat routinely.
  • So play with the placement of stuff in your house.
  • Our extreme indoor environment are for sure in need of review, but another aspect that our indoor environment do that may negatively impacting us as modern day humans, is the separation between us, and the natural world.
  • Keep off the pavement!
  • A lawn meander and rant.  Why have a lawn if you can’t walk on it?
  • Beds, another piece of furniture, are they a sleep orthopedic? Pillows as well? Do we really need those super thick pillows or are they perhaps mishaps get us.
  • The height and the firmness of the beds maybe something to look into.

“Theres not much in nature that’s going to mimic a foot of memory foam”  ~Frank

  •  Sleep hygiene.
  • Frank & Meredith pontificate upon this term and offer perhaps a more accurate term.

“I don’t want to sleep hygienic”( Meredith)…”I want to sleep dirty” (Frank)

Thank you for listening to part three of Extreme Indoor Environments.

If you like anything you heard here, if it has intrigued you, resonated with you or has provoked a changed your thinking or perspective, if you have found value in the information provided, or if it moved you in someway, please give us the pleasure of a personal review and or rating and iTunes.  We may even read it on the podcast.

We would also like to encourage you to join the conversation and get involved in the meandering discussion by way of social media whichever is your favorite.  You can find us on Twitter and Facebook.

Cheers, be well

 

Adventures In Humaning – Extreme Indoor Environment Series: Part 2 – Circadian Rhythm

Adventures In Humaning with Frank & Meredith | Extreme Indoor Environment Series | Circadian Rhythms | Frankly Well | Forward Health Coach

Welcome back to another episode of Adventures In Humaning. Once again – we’re discussing why our indoor environment might be pretty extreme.  Last week, we discussed how the bacteria in our indoor environment might be pretty extreme and what that means to our health. This week, we chat about home living inside disconnects us from the natural circadian forces that influence the life of all living organisms.  We are no longer used to being in the sun, natural light and dark cycles, and daily and seasonal temperature fluctuation. This disconnect affects important things like our hormone signaling and sleep cycles.

Ironically – the comfort zone provided by our indoor environment – is what makes it so extreme to our bodies.

You’ll hear Frank & I talk about things like: